I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved method and apparatus for providing high speed data in a wireless cellular communication environment.
II. Description of the Related Art
As wireless communication technology has advanced, an increase in the demand for high speed data services in a wireless environment has grown dramatically. The use of code division multiple access (CDMA) modulation is one of several techniques for providing digital wireless transmission that is well suited for the transmission of digital data. Other methods of digital wireless transmission include time division multiple access (TDMA) and frequency division multiple access (FDMA).
However, the spread spectrum modulation technique of CDMA has significant advantages over other digital modulation techniques. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307, entitled “SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERS”, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,459, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING SIGNAL WAVEFORMS IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM”, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein. The method for providing digital wireless communications using CDMA modulation was standardized by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) in TIA/EIA/IS-95-A Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System (hereafter IS-95).
The current wireless communication systems can only accommodate relatively low transmission rates. In addition, most current wireless communication systems have not been optimized for the transmission of digital data, but rather have been optimized for the transmission of speech information. Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a method of providing high speed digital data in a wireless environment.